Why I am No Longer a Christian Anarchist

A couple years ago, I read Greg Boyd's Myth of a Christian Nation. I had been developing a political consciousness through my study of Jesus and the prophets, as well as through conversations with my dad, who often critiqued the widespread desire to "take America back for God" and "re-"establish a "Christian Nation." Precisely two years ago--May 15th, 2012--I wrote my first blog on Christianity and politics (read it, here), in which I said, "Our nation needs more than legislature imposing Christian moral values on all people" and "We need to change this nation from the inside out, not from the outside in." Soon after that, I read Boyd's book, which reflected the same exact understanding. I was instantly a follower.

Boyd advocates Christian Anarchy. Although, given the chaotic connotations of "anarchy," he eventually laid aside that title, preferring "Christ-Archy." I prefer Christianarchy. Whichever label one prefers, the idea is that Christians are called to cultivate a mustard-seed kingdom, a community of other-focused love in which Christians seek to emulate Christ. Such a community would not seek political power in order to impose moral laws on the whole country, but would seek to transform the world by being an inviting, love-filled people who grow and grow. It is the Christ-like, counter-cultural alternative to the systems of power implemented by the empire.

I still firmly believe in such a community, and I still firmly believe that the church is called (dare I say, demanded) by God to be such a community.

That being said, I no longer consider myself a Christianarchist. This is because Boyd and others like him who seek to revive the Anabaptist tradition claim that Christians should not engage in politics. All social change should be embodied practical change and not coercive governmental change. I sympathize with this view, but I can no longer accept it. I have come to see that there are many practical steps that the government can take to bring about positive social change, and I think we Christians should seek Christ-like social change in whatever way we can.

I am now registered to vote, and I plan to vote every time I see a candidate who represents Christ-like ideals for social change, especially if he/she is running against someone who I think has it all wrong. This includes voting in non-presidential elections.

I used to object to voting because you can never trust a politician. You can't tell whether or not the person for whom you're voting is a wolf in sheep's clothing. And since power corrupts, I felt justified assuming that all politicians are wolves in sheep's clothing. That very well may be the case. Voting is risky business. However, wolf in sheep's clothing or not, a politician has deciding power, and deciding power means the ability to influence legislature, and legislature can bring about positive, Christ-like changes, or it can cause our country to take a turn for the worse. I have come to see that voting is worth the risk.

I recently sent a letter to Virginia senator Mark Warner asking him to vote in favor of the Minimum Wage Fairness Act. He responded, informing me that he did vote in favor of it as he thinks the minimum wage is too low (the motion to proceed to the bill ended up failing 54 to 42). I realized through this experience that I can seek the kingdom of God through political means, even in the midst of a corrupt system. The mustard-seed can be planted in the government. Positive change can happen.

Wall Street banks borrow money from the government at interest rates of less than 1%. They then take the borrowed money and use it to give their top execs multi-million dollar bonuses, even while laying off workers. Government students loan interest rates, on the other hand, range from 3-7%. These student loans don't enable students to live lavish lives, they enslave them (see Prov. 22:7), and the education that was meant to make them successful becomes a lifetime burden. Raising interest rates for Wall Street banks borrowing from the government and including stipulations on how government loans can be used, while simultaneously lowering interest rates on students so it is less burdensome to go to college and become successful, are practical steps the government can take to make our society better. Such changes would be moves in a Christian direction, and so I think they should be sought after. 

I wish if someone asked me where I stand politically, I could simply say, "I'm a Christian." That would seriously be the best way to describe it. Every issue for which I take action, and every candidate for whom I vote, I will always have the teachings and an example of Jesus Christ at heart, influencing my every stance.

Unfortunately, if I simply said, "I'm a Christian," people would probably assume I'm a Republican seeking to take America back for God (Kenneth in 30 Rock says, "I don't vote because I think choosing is a sin, so I just put in the Lord's name," and Jack Donaghy responds, "That's Republican. We count those"), or they'll think I have no political opinion whatsoever and I say "Christian" as a cop-out. The truth is quite different.

I still agree with 19-year-old John Daniel that "Our nation needs more than legislature imposing Christian moral values on all people." I still agree with him that "The people in our nation need a thorough reform of the soul. They need God to change them from the inside out." While I still embrace the pursuit of a counter-cultural alternative community of other-focused love that embodies the teachings of Jesus, I would explain to my past self the need for the pursuit of social change through politics. 

Blessed are the Persecuted: Responding to Skeptics

After posting the previous blog (here), I received the same objection from several people. Thus, I would like to respond to it formally.

I stated that if it really came down to persecution of Christians or persecution of homosexuals, it would be the most Christ-like response for we Christians to choose our own.

The main objection I got goes something like this:

By standing against homosexuality, we are not persecuting them, but are rather declaring God’s truth, that they are sinning. Furthermore, we must be the responsible citizens who are going to stand up and fight for truth. It has nothing to do with persecution.

(If I could state it better, let me know and I’ll alter my wording)

You may not think it is persecution, but it is persecution in the eyes of homosexuals and of millions of others.

Sure, you could say that we are supposed to present the truth and they can call it what they like, but you’d be missing the point of ministry, and missing the point of God’s truth.

Would a good minister disregard how he/she comes across to those he/she is ministering to?

Paul knew the importance of presenting the Gospel in a way in which his audience could understand and appreciate (Acts 17:16–34).

Furthermore, Christ came to save sinners with his love, not to condemn them into following him.

I was watching a documentary about homosexuality and the church, and in it there was a real story of a Christian mother who found out her daughter was a lesbian. The mother was devastated and told the daughter that, though she would never stop loving her, she could never accept that and would always hate it about her (like “love the sinner, hate the sin”). This mother, in her eyes, was just telling her daughter God’s truth.

A few months later, her daughter committed suicide.
When I got to that part of the story, I couldn't help but cry. And I know Jesus also cried.

We have to learn how to better minister to homosexuals. We have to learn that the way so many Christians adamantly stand against homosexuality makes homosexuals feel persecuted.

When we put up our signs that say “Homosexuality is an abomination,” we are, in their eyes, persecuting them. Doing this will not only cause many to reject God completely, but it can and does make people feel horrible.

This is not at all what Christ looked like.

Not only did Jesus dine with sinners, but they were drawn to him! There was something about him they wanted to pursue.

This drove the Pharisees crazy, because they sought to be moral guardians. They were the ones standing against others because of their sin.

Christ knew how ineffective and unloving this was. Christ was someone who stood with sinners, not against them. 

Furthermore, Paul said, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside of the Church?” (1 Cor. 5:12).

If it isn’t our business to judge the sins of those who are outside the Church, why are we making it our business?

Christianity shouldn't inspire someone to commit suicide.
Christianity should be marked by a salvific, transforming love that inspires people to become disciples of the beautiful Christ.
For that to happen, we need to get rid of our moral guardian mindsets and stop making it our business to judge the sins of others.

Our job is to love sinners like Christ, and love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, not self-seeking, not easily angered.
Love does not delight in evil, and nor does love keep a record of sins.
Rather, Love rejoices with the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres; and it never fails.

We should be focusing more on practicing these qualities towards sinners than trying to make their sins illegal (especially if we’re not willing to make our own sins illegal).

Blessed are the Persecuted: A brief note on Christians and Gay Marriage

"God will judge us not on how much we endured, but on how much we could love"

- Richard Wurmbrand, Tortured for Christ

A large number of Conservative Christians today believe that if gay marriage is legalized, it will be the beginning of the end of Christian liberty.
It will lead to persecution of Christians, including the prohibition of saying that homosexuality is a sin.
Though I doubt that it will be anywhere near that drastic, let’s say they’re correct and it will be.

If I had to choose between being persecuted as a Christian, or finding out about another homosexual committing suicide because of persecution, I would choose my own persecution!

If it really came down to our persecution or theirs, it would be the most Christ-like response to choose ours.

Though Christ was equal to God in nature, he emptied himself completely, made himself nothing, became a human servant, and then became obedient to death. And for this he was exalted. (Phil. 2:6-11)

We should seek to be like Christ (v.5).
We should be self-emptying, self-sacrificing, and other-focused.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition” (v.3). The Greek word for ‘selfish ambition’ denotes one who demands his own rights.
“Let your benevolence be evident to all!” (4:5). The Greek word for ‘benevolence’ denotes one who does not care about his own rights.

Rather than demanding our own rights, we should forget about ourselves and focus on the rights and interests and needs of others (2:3-4).
In our lives, we should look like Christ dying on the cross to transform people with infinite, salvific love.
Even if that means sacrificing our religious liberty and accepting persecution!

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when people persecute you and insult you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you on account of me.
Rejoice and be glad! Your reward in Heaven is great, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” - Matt. 5:10-12

The End of America as We Know It?

Obama's presidency is not the end of America as we know it.
In four years two other candidates will run for president just like all the other elections.
Sure, we'll see changes; perhaps even drastic changes. But Obama can only do so much; he can't take from us Jesus Christ.
Side note: Obama is not against religious liberty. If you're believing that, then you should probably do some re-evaluating.
But even if he was, would there be reason to fear? I suppose by the world's standards there would be; but we Christians do no live by the world's standards, do we?
We are citizens of another kingdom; followers of a different leader.
This government is not our hope. Romney was not America's hope. And America is not the world's hope.
Christ is the one and only hope for all of humanity, and he isn't bound to a president.
Don't spend your time fretting and complaining. Your God is bigger than Obama!
Don't spend your time predicting the doom of America. You have no idea what God can accomplish!
Don't spend your time ranting and raving. Would Christ?
Would Christ fear, complain, rant and rave about who is president?
What would he do?
What did he do?
His work was in the transforming of the world from the inside out, not from the outside in.
The world tries to change things from the outside in. Romney would have tried to, and Obama is going to try to. But that's not the way Christ does things.
He is in the business of transforming people with his powerful love.
Instead of fearing and weeping about who is president, you should, as Ghandi said, be the change you want to see in this world!
Instead of jumping to extremes like "I'm moving to Australia," go out and make a difference with the love of Christ!
Instead of complaining, pray for Obama. Don't pray in anger. Don't pray selfishly. But pray that he would see God and that God would become an influence in his decision-making. Is it not possible?!
Pray that God will invade the White House, and that all those who would listen to him will, and will be empowered to make a difference, not for the Republican party, but for God's will.
Pray for this country. Pray that God will make you a tool for the beautiful transformation he desires in America.
Pray for your attitude toward the president and toward the country. Pray that you will be the salt of the earth, the light of the world; that you would not lose your flavor nor hide your light under a basket, but that you would enrich the world and give light to all who see you; that by witnessing your good works they would glorify the Father in Heaven.
Pray that you would be a glimpse of Christ to all who see you. Pray that God would transform you into the kind of American that he wants you to be.
And TRUST GOD.
If everything the extreme conservatives are saying is true, would that mean that God is no longer sovereign?
Can God not take care of you?
I'm almost glad that Obama was re-elected. This will give Christians another chance to fully trust God and focus more on him than on the government.

Remember in these days to trust God, be the salt and light of the world, be like Christ, be transformed, and pray for Obama and for the country.

God Bless.

Scripture passages for reflection:

"Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save"- Ps. 146:3

"Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him." - II Timothy 2:3-4

"our citizenship is in heaven" - Philippians 3:20

 "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." - John 18:36

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities . . . Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. . . . clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." - Romans 13:1, 7-8, 14

"Abide in me . . . If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love . . . This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." - John 15:4, 10, 12

Socialism and the Kingdom of God

Luke 3:11: "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

Acts 4:32-35: "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need."

Acts 2:44-45: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need."

“The practice of landowners selling their property and giving the proceeds over to the apostles for redistribution embodies a sociology of divine grace.” - Anthony B. Robinson and Robert W. Wall(1)

What is described in these Bible passages is socialism. The difference between this socialism and the socialism we know of today is that this is voluntary socialism, whereas the socialism we think of is government-mandated. It should also be said that "Acts is not offering a proposal for political policy but a picture of a community and a congregation's life together."(2)
That being said, the central idea remains: all the people living in a certain place give their money to the leaders and the leaders redistribute it—or, “spread the wealth around”—so that there are “no needy persons among them.”

The idea of socialism is infuriating to so many people today. This can be seen by the fact that republicans use the term socialist as an insult to Obama.
The objection is somewhat like, “I made my money. Why should anyone else have my money but me?”
Robinson and Wall have observed that "most of us in twenty-first-century North America not only participate in a capitalist economy but have even internalized capitalism in our hearts and souls."(3)

This reminds me of the parable of the workers in the vineyard, in which a landowner hired men early in the morning, and then again at the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours. At the end of the day, he paid them all a denarius (Matt. 20:1-16).
And this is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like (v.1).

These two cases are similar. Except instead of handing money to the apostles, the workers are handing their work to the landowner and their work is given the same treatment as the work of the others. But these amount to basically the same concept. After all, we have to earn our money.

In the Kingdom of Heaven, not only will the first be last and the last be first (Matt. 20:16), but the poor will be rich and the rich will be humbled. God’s grace will be upon us all (Acts 4:24) and will make us all equal, and there will not be a needy person among us (v.25).

Socialism: the model of the Kingdom of Heaven ;-)

Notes:
(1) Anthony B. Robinson and Robert W. Wall, Called to be Church: The Book of Acts for a New Day (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2006), 74.
(2) Ibid., 83.
(3) Ibid.

Book Review: The Myth of a Christian Nation

★★★★★

So many Americans today mistakenly put America on par with OT Israel. Believing that this nation was founded on Christian principles, they think we must take America "back" for God. We must do this, they believe, by initiating legislature imposing Christian moral values on all American citizens, by giving Christians political power, by keeping homosexual marriages illegal, by keeping prayer in schools, by maintaining monuments of the Ten Commandments in schools, etc.

Dr. Gregory Boyd addresses this flawed mindset in this book The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church.

Every American Christian should read this book.

I wrote a post a couple months ago about this very topic (click here to read), and I found my views (almost word-for-word) throughout the entire book. Boyd's message is incredibly important in this day and age. So many Christians have lost sight of the true mission of Christ. We have lost sight of the goals for which we should be working and have become incredibly secular in our approach to spreading the love of Christ. Our methods are completely foreign to the kingdom of God, and Boyd shows this clearly and provides a Christ-like vision on which American Christians should focus their attention and effort.

He sticks so close to Scripture that, by the end of the book, doubting his overall message is quite difficult if one follows Christ's example above all. This book is sure to rattle a lot of cages (I know it rattled mine), but inside is a message we all need to hear. Even if you don't agree with everything he says (I'm still up in the air on whether or not I do), the book is thought-provoking and provides an outlook on life that--though one may not buy into 100%--is most definitely good for one's spiritual life and challenging for one's perspective on how to follow Christ's example.

Stop! In the Name of Love! A Christian Response to Gay Marriage

Ever since President Obama officially came out in favor of gay marriage, the topic has gone viral. I have seen a lot of articles recently about homosexuality from a lot of different places, including many Christian sources that have said that it is not against Scripture's teaching.

The purpose of this post is not to argue for or against it. My purpose is to answer this question: What should be the church's response to homosexuals and to gay marriage?

My position in this matter can be summed up by saying that I don't think the church's message can be "Stop gays!" and "Love gays!" at the same time.

We must choose one. Why? Because if the church is loudly trying to stop homosexuals from doing what they want to do, it is going to create a divide between the two.
There cannot be a divide between the church and sinners.

Now let me clarify. I think Christians themselves can be against gay marriage--that is their right.
[I understand that it does not work this, but] if it came down to a vote in which the nation would decide whether or not to grant homosexuals the privilege to get married, Christians should be able to vote against it. And I am not saying they shouldn't. I am speaking of the church as a whole.

If whole churches--or large groups of Christians representing Christ--attended a rally against homosexuality, it would destroy the opportunity they have to minister to the homosexuals at hand.
The LGBT community needs to become aware of the fact that Christ loves them with a love that is beyond understanding and he so desires to be in relationship with them.

They cannot be opened up to that realization when those representing Christ are emphatically standing against them.

The church in this situation should be trying to win their hearts for Christ. The church should be trying to reveal to them the love of Christ.

That being said, I do understand the importance of living a pure, Christ-like life. Do I think homosexuality is sinful? Yes I do. But sanctification begins with Christ's love. As it has been said by many, God loves all of us just the way we are, but so much that he won't let us stay this way. It is our job to introduce the lost to that love. "They will know we are Christians by our love!"

We do not win their hearts with a law that says they cannot get married. And we definitely don't win their hearts by standing against them so adamantly!

What is our focus? Winning hearts for Christ? Or imposing our moral values on a whole nation?

What is more important: stopping gays from getting married or captivating them with the love of Christ?

We have to choose which message we will give to our nation. And, as ambassadors for Christ, we must prefer to show them God's love.
That is what Christ would do.
That is what Christ did.

Was Christ interested in establishing laws based on his moral standards?
Or was he interested in revealing his love to the lost?

Don't you think he would dine with homosexuals?
If you don't, you need to read the gospels again.

Was Christ interested in convicting the unbelieving sinner of his sin?
Or was he interested in transforming hearts with his unconditional love?

He wanted all people to follow him, regardless of the sinful state in which they lived.
And he never once required someone to change before  following him.
He fed thousands before preaching to them. He met their needs and then taught them the truth.
It's useless to try and convince someone he is sinning when he doesn't believe in the Bible.
It is only after we win his heart for Christ that we can convict him. At that point, not only will he recognize his sinful nature, but he will desire God's will for his life.

The church's message should be 

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." - (Isa. 55:1)

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28)

Church, Stop! In the name of love, and LOVE in the name of Christ!
You must stop breaking the hearts of the lost with your messages of separation and discrimination, and you must begin to captivate their hearts with Christ's love.
In our actions toward homosexuals, we should look like Christ dying on the cross to transform their lives.
Then--and only then--can we bring them the message "Stop! In the name of love, and live in the name of Christ!"

Christianity, Politics, and King Josiah's Reform

In ancient Israel, King Josiah initiated his famous religious reform as the collapse of Assyria assured freedom for Judah. Around this time, in 622 B.C.E., the temple law book was found. The finding of the law book gave direction to the King's reform. C. Hassell Bullock observes that the "early years of religious reform were marked by renewed hope for Judah, and the discovery of the scroll of the law in 622/21 reinforced and abetted the renewal."(1) This reform did a lot of good for Judah, but, as John Bright observes, it "produced no profound change in the national character."(2)

The prophet Jeremiah accepted his prophetic call the same year the temple law book was found. It is not clear what exactly Jeremiah thought about the reform, but the best explanation I have found is from Bright. He concludes that, though he did not participate in the reform, Jeremiah was in favor of it. However, Jeremiah did not formulate his opinion concerning the spiritual state of Israel merely on the fact that an official reform initiated by the king was taking place. Indeed, that would never satisfy Jeremiah. He would only be satisfied by “a sincere and heartfelt repentance, an inner change in the national character, a wholesale turning on the part of the people to loyal obedience to Yahweh—and this the reform did not produce.”(3)

King Josiah's reform was a good thing, but the people of Israel needed more than a legislative reform. They had sin written on their hearts (Jer. 17:1). No law of man could change that. The reform they needed could only be initiated by God. They needed Him to heal their incurable wound (30:17) and create in them new hearts with His law written inside (31:33).

So many Christians today want King Josiah's reform more than the reform of which the prophets spoke.

Our nation needs more than legislature imposing Christian moral values on all people. Our nation needs more than a law that says homosexuals cannot get married. Our nation needs more than a monument of the Ten Commandments in every school in the country.

The people in our nation need a thorough reform of the soul. They need God to change them from the inside out. They need the gospel. They need the love of Christ to be expressed to them in the deepest way.

Christians today are too busy fighting for moral laws, getting offended by what people do and say, and kicking & screaming every time people make a move away from Christianity.

Why do people move away from Christianity?
Intolerance? Narrow-mindedness? Hypocrisy? Rejection? A lack of love?

Surely none of them would leave because of an exposure to too much love!

Even if Christians could claim power over our nation and establish moral laws that line up with Christianity, would it even be a good idea?
Can you give me a situation in church history when it was a good idea?

How about Calvin's Geneva? Under Calvin, the city council decided that Servetus deserved to die for denying the doctrine of the trinity.
How about Zwingli? He and the city council sentenced thousands upon thousands of Anabaptists to death by drowning simply because they believed that infant baptism isn't biblical.
How about the Roman Catholic Church? Need I say more about it?

Maybe power isn't what Christianity should be fighting for.

Instead of asking how we can help put Christianity in power, maybe we should ask how we can love people.
We need to change this nation from the inside out, not from the outside in with laws establishing our Christian values.
In our country, we should look like Jesus dying on the cross to transform lives.
We should not look like a bunch of angry citizens fighting to "re-establish" a "Christian nation".

The Greek word used for ministry is διακονίᾳ (diakonia) and it means “waiting a table.” It also carries the meaning, “‘discharge of service’ in genuine love”—service being “all significant activity for the edification of the community."(4) Christ is the bread of life (Jn. 6:35) and the Word of God (1:1). Ministry is the act of serving the Word of God to the world. We are to be waiters and waitresses serving the bread of life to our tables—our communities. How do we do that? LOVE  
The world will know we are Christians by our love! (John 13:35)

Notes:

(1) C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 192. 

(2) John Bright, Jeremiah (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), XXVII

(3) Ibid., XCIV.

(4) Herman W. Beyer, “διακονία,” in Vol. 2 of TDNT, ed. Gerhard Kittel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Pub Co, 1964), 87–88.